


After the War

by OpalizedBone



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Affirmations of Love, Aftermath of Violence, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Canon Death, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff, Love, SO MUCH FLUFF, True Love, after the war, canon ending, fluffy fluff fluff, inter-species love, shiara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 11:10:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12629676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalizedBone/pseuds/OpalizedBone
Summary: Commander Shepard manages to survive destroying the Reapers-barely. Liara and the others find her and get her to a hospital.A short continuation of the canon ‘destroy’ ending with a high EMS, where you see Shepard breathing in a pile of rubble after saving the world.Just an excuse to write Shiara fluff.





	After the War

**Author's Note:**

> I edited this to make it better; it should read smoother and better overall. Please give me some feedback if you like it!

The explosion sent Commander Shepard flying. She slammed into the wall of the citadel-turned-crucible and slid down to land in a heap of rubble. Her breath was forced out of her lungs in a huge whoosh, and her head cracked against the wall sharply. Her hearing went dead, replaced with a loud ringing, and her sight began to flicker. Her mouth opened and closed, trying to pull in a much-needed breath to her burning lungs.

She watched through bleary eyes as a bright red beam blasted from the crucible, cutting through the few Reapers she could make out through the giant windows.

As her vision began to dim, she was able to see the beam begin to spread throughout the galaxy. She watched with satisfaction, knowing that even if she didn’t survive, they’d won. They’d destroyed the reapers.

~

“She’s alive,” Liara announced to the crew.

They’d all gathered in the war room once repairs to the Normandy were finished. She’d been quietly working at her Shadow Broker feeds for the past couple days while Joker, Tali, and Garrus has gotten the Normandy flying fit, making sure she was correct before she said anything to the rest of the crew. The other had left her alone; she’d gotten the impression they were giving her time to grieve.

Liara’s sharp eyes didn’t miss the way Joker glanced at Kaiden, nor the way Tali shifted uncomfortably next to Garrus. She crossed her arms over her lab coat and fixed each crew member with a steady glare, as if daring them to disagree.

“Uh,” Kaiden cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his head, “are you sure?”

“Yes. Shepard’s alive.”

“How?” Tali asked. “Not that I don’t want to believe it, but we all saw that blast from the crucible.”

“This is Shepard we’re talking about,” Liara pointed out. “She’s survived worse than explosions before.”

“Yeah, but...” James Vega started, shifting uneasily.

“No buts!” Liara exclaimed. “She’s alive, and we’re going after her. Now.”

The crew looked at each other for a moment, and then everyone scrambled to their stations.

No one messed with the Shadow Broker.

~

When she next came to, Shepard gasped in a breath, coughing when she inhaled ash and smoke. Her entire body burned, and she jerked with the sudden pain, unable to really do more than lay there in the wreckage and breathe shallowly.

“Shepard!” A voice called. “She’s over here!”  
She heard the sound of other voices replying and feet rushing towards her, but couldn’t decipher who was speaking. She felt the warm presence of someone kneeling next to her, and focused on them with all her might.

“Shepard?” She recognized that voice... “Can you hear me, Shepard?”

She cracked open one eye, and a blurry, blue-and-white figure swam into view, kneeling over her. A low moan cracked in her throat as her entire body was wracked with pain.

“She needs a hospital,” that familiar voice said, and she felt a warm, soft hand touch her cheek. She knew that hand—she’d felt on on nearly every inch of her skin over the last three years.

“Where?” Another voice said. “Huerta’s gone.”

“There are other hospitals,” yet another voice replied. “What about Earth?”

“Are there any hospitals still standing?”

Shepard let their voices fade into the background, trying vainly to focus on the figure kneeling over her. She leaned her head into the warm, oh-so-familiar hand on her cheek.

“Shepard?” That voice...she’d heard it so often. Whispered in her ear, checking on her during missions, moaning her name...

“Liara,” Shepard managed, staring into the gorgeous blue eyes of her girlfriend. Her voice was barely there, a gasp of pain, but Liara heard her.

“Yes, Shepard, it’s me,” Liara smiled at her, tears streaming down her face. “I’m here.”  
Shepard managed a tiny smile before she passed out again.

~

By the time they made it to a hospital that was still operational on earth, Shepard’s blood had soaked deep into the cot of the Normandy’s med bay. Dr. Chakwas had done what she could to stabilize the Commander, but most of her supplies had been completely depleted by the last battle for earth. As it was, she kept fretting over Shepard, giving her the last of their Medi-Gel and bunching sheets over the worst of her wounds to staunch the bleeding.

“Oh, I do hope you all hurry,” Dr. Chakwas told Liara. “This is the best I could do, I’m afraid. She needs much more than I could provide.”

“We’ll get her fixed up, doc,” Garrus assured her. “Liara won’t let them do anything but the very best for Shepard.”

Liara chose to ignore his comment and focus on getting Shepard into the hospital.

An hour later, they were all waiting anxiously for Shepard to get out of surgery, none more anxiously than Liara. She tried to distract herself with her Shadow Broker feeds on a portable tablet, but she couldn’t concentrate. One by one, the others wandered away, leaving Liara waiting for the doctor by herself.

“Are you Liara?” a voice said a few hours later, and she looked up to see a salarian in a white lab coat.

“Yes,” Liara stood up, wringing her hands in front of her, a nervous habit she’d never quite gotten rid of.

“I’m Dr. Aenok, I’m in charge of Commander Shepard’s care. If you’ll please follow me.”

“Is the commander okay?” Liara asked, following the doctor down the hall.

“Well, she’s suffered some very serious injuries, but we expect her to make a very good recovery,” Dr. Aenok said over his shoulder.

“Is she awake?” Liara asked. “Can I go in?”

“She is awake, but heavily medicated. She’ll be quite groggy. I do have to warn you that it’s...a bit gruesome.”

“But she will recover?”

“We expect so. It will be difficult, and you’ll have to make sure she doesn’t overwork herself.”  
  
“That may be difficult,” Liara muttered to herself.

“She’s right through here,” Dr. Aenok stopped outside of a door. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Liara said, bracing herself before opening the door.

Commander Shepard was lying quite still on a small cot, covered up to her collarbones with a sheet. One of her eyes was still swollen shut, but the other searched the air aimlessly. The cuts on her face had been cleaned up, but her hair was a mess, spread out in a messy halo and caked with dirt and gore. Her full lips were split, and a gash crossed the bridge of her nose. Her complexion was paler than normal with blood loss and pain alike.

“Oh, Shepard,” Liara gasped, kneeling next to her. Shepard managed to turn her head slowly and look at her.

“Liara,” she slurred, trying to reach for her. Her arm shifted the sheet from her body, and Liara stifled a gasp when she saw how much of her lover was covered in sterile bandages. Blood and pus had already leaked through a large one around her middle.

“Oh, love, I’m here,” Liara comforted her, holding her hand. Tears leaked from her eyes at the thought of the pain her girlfriend had to be in.

“You’re okay?” Shepard managed to ask, looking at her teary face with concern.

“You nearly died and you’re asking if I’m okay?” Liara shook her head, pressing a gentle kiss on an unmarred section of Shepard’s forehead. “Yes, Joker got me away safely. Nothing more than a few scrapes and burns.”

“Good. I love you so much,” Shepard mumbled, gazing at her in wonder.

“I love you too, Shepard,” Liara smiled. “You better get well quick. We have to start our life free from the Reapers.”

“We did it, then?” Shepard confirmed, staring up at Liara. The pain was almost overwhelming, even with all the medication she was on, and she grimaced. “We defeated the Reapers?”

“You did it,” Liara corrected gently. “You managed to set off the crucible. Joker got us to safety before we could take too much damage.”

“Did everyone make it?”

“Almost,” Liara replied. “We lost engineer Addams, and a few others in the lower decks. And EDI shut down when the beam reached us.”

“Damn,” Shepard cursed, closing her eyes. “Poor EDI. Poor Joker...”

“It was the right thing to do,” Liara said firmly. “You know it was.”

“Yeah, but...”

“No buts, Shepard. You’re a hero. You’re my hero,” Liara kissed Shepard, very gently. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

“I love you,” Shepard repeated, smiling up at her. “So much.”

“I love you too, Shepard. Now hurry up and get better so we can get out of here.”

“We need to go on a proper date,” Shepard agreed. “I must owe you about a thousand.”

“And then we’ll have to find a place to live and start our new life.”

“That sounds even better,” Shepard smiled, then winced in pain. “You still want a bunch of little blue children?”

“One day,” Liara grinned, holding her hand. “Give me a couple years to have you all to myself.”

“All to yourself, huh? I like the sound of that.”

“I’m glad,” Liara said, smiling at her. “I think we’ve earned a vacation.”

“Or retirement,” Shepard replied.

“As long as we’re together.”

“We will be. Forever,” Shepard said, and Liara smiled.

“Yes, my love. Forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> I will never be over Shiara and I’m so happy I managed to destroy the Reapers and keep my Shepard alive.  
> Should I continue this?


End file.
